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Nikolić holds election rally in Kosovo |
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16 January
2008 |
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 | Tomislav Nikolić during rally today (Tanjug)
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Serb Radical Party (SRS) presidential candidate Tomislav Nikolić has vowed never to abandon the Kosovo Serbs.
"I have come to Kosovska Mitrovica to pledge that I shall never let you down and that you will never be alone and without protection," Nikolić said at an election rally in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.
A large mass of supporters welcomed Nikolić chanting "Serbia, Serbia!" and "We won't give Kosovo up."
The SRS deputy leader stressed that the Kosovo Serbs had to be protected, and that Serbia would do so if the United Nations failed.
He added that, when he became president, he would cooperate with all states that accepted Serbia as it was, within its own borders.
"I have not said goodbye to the West. I said we could be with you, and that we can sign whatever you want, but do not touch Serbia. Serbia has its borders," said Nikolić.
The SRS deputy leader reiterated that he was ready to cooperate with all countries, but that Serbia's most sincere friend was Russia, and that all those who claimed that cooperation with Russia meant a quarrel with the EU were lying.
He stressed that the hatred and poor relations in the province were being created by “the occupier, who is stirring the Albanians up against the Serbs and urging them towards independence, all in the aim of ridding Kosovo of the Serbs.”
Nikolić said that the forthcoming presidential elections were vital for Serbia, as the country had reached a crossroads, adding that the Serbian people should only be divided on polling day, and that on January 21 they “should be as one.”
The SRS presidential candidate said that, as president, he would guarantee the citizens of Kosovo freedom, and that he would resign if he failed to do so.
He added that, unlike the current president, Boris Tadić, he would call on the new Constitution that stipulated that Kosovo was an integral part of Serbia.
During the rally, a letter of support was read out from SRS leader Vojislav Šešelj.
The rally, which was conducted under the supervision of members of the Kosovo Police Service and UNMIK police, passed by without incident.
Nikolić will hold another meeting in Kraljevo today at 6 p.m.
"Parliament will scupper SAA ratification"
The Serb Radical Party deputy leader says parliament will challenge the SAA if it is signed on January 28.
Tomislav Nikolić told daily Politika that the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU “only comes into force when it’s ratified by the National Parliament. If I can prove that the agreement is no good, parliament won’t be able to ratify it, and then Tadić will be out on a limb.“
According to the SRS presidential candidate, if Tadić doesn’t sign it, “that’ll be the end of him too, as he promised an agreement that he can’t afford to put on the agenda for signing.“
He added that he hoped to have a lead of at least six points over the incumbent after the first round of the presidential vote, as he felt that this would be enough to guarantee him victory in the second round.
Nikolić said that, if elected, he “would never attend meetings where parties were discussing an issue, regardless of what it was, in the capacity of a president of a party.“
Asked whether, in such an event, he would entrust the SRS leadership to someone else, he replied that a party could never escape the influence of the party’s main man, and that it had never crossed his mind that Vojislav Šešelj should not have an influence on the party.
“I won’t lead it as much as now, to leave my mark, but I’ll be there, I’m a party member,“ said Nikolić.
The SRS candidate said that Šešelj had not led the party for five years. |
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Wednesday, 16 January 2008 |
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